The spirit of giving fades with holidays

Toward the end of the year, a surge of holiday goodwill inspires many people to reach out and help the less fortunate.

Food and clothing donations tend to spike during this time, as many people fall into a common holiday theme of helping their fellow man. Then the holiday magic fades, a new year begins, and people revert to their daily routines. Temperatures continue to drop through the cold winter months, though the donations that surged through the holidays trickle away.

It’s during this winter stretch that non-profits and food pantries struggle the most to help the needy families in their communities – and when some extra assistance from the public is most needed.

View full sizeStaff photo by Cindy HepnerRussell Stormes of the Commercial Township Food Pantry explains the shortage of food to hand out to the needy. Freezers are empty and non-perishable food items are in limited supply.

“Things slow down after the holidays, but the need never goes away,” says Joyce Skradzinski, executive director of the

South Jersey Chapter of the American Red Cross. “There’s a sharp difference after Christmastime. Toward the end of the year, businesses tend to give donations so they can get a tax deduction, and people generally give more. Once Christmas has come and gone, people get tied up with their own bills from the holidays and the donations slow down.”

The Red Cross operates on 100 percent donated dollars from the public, whether it’s individual donations or donations from businesses, to provide emergency and disaster assistance to people in need. The Red Cross receives no government funding, but does benefit from the ability to network with other Red Cross chapters as a national organization, Skradzinski explained.

By comparison, the Food Bank of South Jersey receives about 60 percent of their food through state and federal programs, but the rest comes from individual and company donations.

“Typically, we do see a drop after the holidays,” said Val Traore, CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey. “One of the primary reasons is that, although our industry and federal food levels remain the same, our individual donations decrease after the holidays.”

View full sizeStaff photo by Brad Kingett Tim Dolan, executive director of the United Way of Salem County, stands in the now, nearly empty storage room that was overflowing with donations a week ago.

But, she added, “We never stop the distribution of food ... and we continually run our direct service programs to reach the most fragile, vulnerable members of the population – children and the elderly – through these tough, cold months.”

Traore explained that the food bank, which is based in Pennsauken though it operates throughout South Jersey, has seen a 43 percent increase in the number of people coming to its agencies for food since the economic downturn.

“The face of hunger is changing as well,” said Traore. “We’ve seen hunger morph from an urban, inner city problem to a problem that increasingly affects our well-off middle class suburbs.”

For smaller food pantries and non-profits, the opportunities for government funding and networking are not as readily available. Many are finding it difficult to meet the needs of their communities now.

The Commercial Township Community Food Pantry, for example, which is operated by the Laurel Lakes Community Day and Volunteer Association, opened in 2008. The pantry relies on public donations but more so on state and federal funding.

Unfortunately, according to association president Russell Stormes, smaller food pantries like his have taken a hit in government funding in recent years.

“Funding has really fallen off drastically for everything this past year,” said Stormes. “A lot of pantries are hurting right now.”

Stormes said more funding and grants tend to go to larger organizations – not to smaller food pantries. Also, a new state software program implemented in 2011 for calculating a pantry’s need has left many pantries shorted for food, he said.

“It’s important to support the little pantries because we’re more involved with the community and we actually see the effects,” said Stormes. “In this economy, people are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. The people who come to pantries absolutely need help. For example, we see a lot of seniors who rely on us. Because of how little they get in Social Security, they can’t afford groceries.”

In Williamstown, officials at the non-profit organization Interfaith Helpers of Gloucester County said they’ve seen a greater need for assistance as people continue to lose jobs and as other struggling non-profits are forced to shut down or turn people away.

“There has been an absolute increase with people out of work or struggling with reduced hours,” said IHGC Director Bethany Frye. “We get people calling us and saying that other organizations are out of money, and they’re asking us for help ... We see a lot of people in a situation where the places they used to go for food or clothing have run low on supplies, or run out of money.”

The IHGC is also forced to turn people away at times, said Frye, but tries to help as many people as possible with food, clothing, and utility assistance.

“Sometimes we have to say ‘no’ to people ... We like to help as many as possible, but for some that are really down and struggling, we have to turn away repeated requests for services,” said Frye. “Sometimes it’s beyond our possibilities to help those people, but we try to help everyone with at least one request.”

For those who are interested in finding ways to give, the United Way offers support and guidance to help people budget and plan for donations.

“Sometimes folks don’t know the different ways they can give, and a lot want to give but don’t know how – that’s where we come into play,” said Tim Dolan, executive director of the United Way of Salem County.

The United Way provides a conduit to other services – such as the Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, Robin’s Nest, and the YMCA – and can be an excellent resource for both those in need, and those looking to donate.

“We see people in various communities in need all year long, and their needs don’t just end on Dec. 31,” Dolan stated. “A lot of organizations work hard through the year to provide support, and people should try to make one of those organizations part of their regular budget through the year to help keep them funded.”